The Sixth
Door: We Are Co-Creators

once rented a small but delightful casita in
downtown Santa Fe.
One day, my landlady informed me that her daughter
might be returning to Santa Fe and wishing to stay
in the casita. I understood, of course, that her
daughter would be given priority in this situation,
but I was not truly ready to leave my special
little home downtown. My daughter and I did a bit
of magic under the Full Moon, directing our
intentions toward a positive outcome for all
concerned. We walked down to a bridge over the
river to complete our magical working, and when we
returned, there was an email from my landlady, sent
just minutes before, saying that her daughter was
not ready to move back yet, and that the casita
would remain mine for some months yet.

Reality
does not always fall into accord with intention
quite so decisively, but it sometimes does. As a
Pagan witch, I use certain types of ritual magic to
help create changes I want to see in my life. This
is not something limited to one particular
spiritual path or practice, however. Many people
use visualizations, affirmations, or similar
methods to help manifest their goals. In mainstream
religions, prayer can be used to similar effect, if
approached from a particular state of
mind.

Rationalists
are typically skeptical of these kinds of
activities, seeing science and technology and
direct action as the only instruments of change. It
seems to me, however, that even when "mundane"
methods are used to create something new, the
focused intentions and personal energies of those
behind the endeavor remain crucial. The Apollo
program, for example, was clearly and
accomplishment of pragmatic engineering, but it was
also the manifestation of the intentions expressed
in Kennedy's visionary speech, and the inspiration
it produced in those who were moved by it. Without
that human dimension, the funding and technology
would not have brought about the same
result.

There
is a sense in which we choose our own life, choose
what we experience and how it changes us. This is a
powerful concept, but a subtle one. Some people,
when they first encounter this particular
metaphysical idea, view it in a rather shallow,
ego-bound way, filling themselves with visions of
instantaneous wish-gratification. Wish for a
hundred thousand dollars, and it will appear. Wish
for a perfect mate, and he or she knocks on the
door. Wish to be cured of cancer, and the disease
vanishes. Obviously, if things were that simple,
the world would be a very different
place.

I think
there are two key points to be understood about
creating one's own reality. The first is that we
make choices on many different levels, most of
which are not conscious. The classic example is
that of someone who keeps attracting abusive or
unfaithful lovers. Such a person sees themselves as
a victim rather than an agent in these traumatic
relationships, unaware of how their own choices and
their own subconscious needs contribute to the
drawing the wrong people in the first place.
Telling such a person they can simply choose who
they attract will not be helpful, unless the person
is already on the verge of bringing their
subconscious choices into clear focus and
awareness.

The
second point is that even when we are clear about
our choices on many different levels, we still live
in a world shared with others. Unless one endorses
a simplistic solipsism, the reality we experience
cannot be our own personal playground. There are
many other conscious beings in the world, each
helping to shape it through their own thoughts,
intentions, and actions. It's a bit like an
improvisational theater troupe, where each player
has a clever idea about how things should go. What
emerges is the result of the interaction, the
intertwining, of all these different intentions.

The
reality we experience is a collaborative
performance, and there is a knack to doing it well.